Episode 277 (Manga)
Synopsis A flashback reveals the conversations Zodd had with the reborn Band of the Falcon before departing to Vritannis. He met with Grunbeld and Locus, who warned him that Ganishka might make a personal appearance if Apostles were to attack the city. Locus added that no physical attack can hurt the Kushan emperor. The impatient Zodd left the conversation without saying a word. He then stumbled across Sonia, alone next to a tree. She prophetically told him that he would soon have to make a choice between fighting the "sword that once cut his flesh" or using it as his own weapon. Both Zodd and Sonia were confused by the statement, and Sonia found herself unable to elaborate. Sonia was then called away by Mule, who reminded her that they had a mission to complete by meeting with the Pontiff. Zodd was left standing alone next to the tree. In the present, Guts clings to the fur on the transformed Zodd's back as the Apostle tries to right himself underwater. They eventually burst out of the water, and the shock of seeing each other in such an unlikely place dies away as Guts readies the Dragon Slayer to kill Zodd. The killing blow cannot be struck due to Ganishka projecting a burst of lightning dangerously close to them. Guts begins to mock Zodd for being unable to injure Ganishka, but Zodd explains that Ganishka's fog body cannot be touched. Schierke then makes telepathic contact with Guts, who asks if Schierke can ascertain what Ganishka's body is truly composed of. She replies that Ganishka's fog form is the result of manipulating wind and water elementals. What's more, Ganishka exists on a deeper level of the Astral world than most other Apostles, meaning that he cannot be injured by weapons of the physical world. While Guts considers this last fact, he narrowly dodges a ship's crossbeam that Zodd has flown perilously close to in an attempt to knock Guts off. Zodd tells Guts that he wants to fight only after Ganishka is taken care of, but Guts places the Dragon Slayer on Zodd's neck and orders the Apostle to fly the way he tells him to: Guts is proposing that he and Zodd form a temporary alliance to take down Ganishka, and presents the Dragon Slayer as the only weapon that can hurt Ganishka due to it existing in the Astral world. Zodd recalls Sonia's prophecy and suddenly understands that its meaning is that, in this moment, he must either fight Guts or ally with him. Zodd tells Guts to remove the Dragon Slayer from his neck, accepting Guts' proposal. Guts, through thought transference, asks Schierke to locate Ganishka's ethereal body. Though at first she hesitates due to knowing Guts' plan, Schierke eventually tells him that it's directly between fog-Ganishka's eyes. Zodd charges towards Ganishka with Guts on his back, the latter holding the Dragon Slayer straight forward. Ganishka unleashes a lightning attack, but the two warriors power through it and fly directly between Ganishka's eyes. The effort of the attack was such that Zodd falls out of the sky and crashes into the harbor's wharf, Guts still on his back. Meanwhile, Daiba stares at Ganishka's fog body, which isn't reforming the way it normally would. Eventually, the fog begins to dissipate. Guts and Zodd's attack is reflected on Ganishka's real body. He sits on his pile of cushions in Wyndham, clutching his face, which is now adorned with an X-shaped scar between the eyes and is issuing steam. Characters in Order of Appearance